LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Disney XD, a cable channel targeting young boys, is going royal with a series order for the live-action comedy pilot “Pair of Kings.”

The series, which will start production in March for a fall premiere, stars “Hannah Montana” veteran Mitchel Musso and “House of Payne” regular Doc Shaw as 16-year-old fraternal twins (one white and one black). They are typical teenagers in Chicago raised by their aunt and uncle until they find out that they are heirs to the throne of the island of Kinkou; they relocate there to become kings.

Recently on its official blog, Disney Parks gave an inside look at one of five custom-painted basses that will be auctioned off to benefit school music programs in honor of the 25th Anniversary of Disney’s Magic Music Days in which students from schools all over are invited to perform at the resort.

Today, Disney has launched the DisneyArtForMusic.com website which indicates that there will be a special event taking place at Walt Disney World on January 19, 2010 with more details to come.

An eight-year-old misfit with his head in the stars learns that being different can also mean being special in the emotional and entertaining Like Stars on Earth, coming to 3-Disc DVD/CD set January 12, 2010 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Disney’s first-ever Hindi-language release, Like Stars on Earth includes seven infectious Bollywood dance numbers, vividly imagined animated interludes and a brand new English-language track for a cross-cultural celebration of creativity and individuality. “A little twinkling star of a movie” according to BBC Movie Reviews, Like Stars on Earth is a sparkling example of why Indian cinema has rapidly become the most popular film import to the U.S.

First, Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, which has been marked as ‘operating seasonally’ since the beginning of the year will re-open for December 20 through January 2 only and is then scheduled to close for the remainder of 2010 (barring any future changes).

Living with the Land, having just recently re-opened from an emergency refurb, is scheduled to close beginning January 18 and re-open on February 6.

Test Track will also have a closure in January, albeit a smaller one, from January 11 through January 17.

We were sent this sneak peek at a new television commercial for Rayovac, the preferred battery at both the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts and thought we’d pass it, its catchy tune and its novel approach on how to handle a younger brother along.

Alaska Airlines this morning introduced its “Spirit of Disneyland II” aircraft at Portland International Airport. The plane is adorned with the faces of Disney’s most recognized characters – Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and, for the first time, Pluto. The new design replaces a previous Disney-themed aircraft retired two weeks ago. Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737-900 aircraft made its inaugural flight from Portland to Los Angeles International Airport carrying three Make-A-Wish® children on their way to the Disneyland Resort to have their wishes granted.

“We’re honored to have our Disney and Make-A-Wish partners join us to debut Alaska’s fourth Disney-themed aircraft,” said Alaska Airlines’ President Brad Tilden. “For the next seven years these five characters will serve as an iconic vehicle to bring customers across our network to the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ and other Alaska Airlines destinations.”

The “Spirit of Disneyland II” aircraft was welcomed at the gate by the three children and their families, as well as Mickey Mouse, Pluto and leaders from Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Oregon, Disneyland Resorts and Alaska Airlines, as travelers looked on from the terminal.

“When a child with a life-threatening medical condition wishes to meet a Disney character or visit a Disney park, we know that Alaska Airlines and Disneyland Resort are there to make it a dream-come-true,” said Andrew Asato, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon executive director. “With donated tickets and passes, as well as extra-special treatment for wish families, these partners have each provided an unduplicated resource to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for more than 20 years.”

We received another gift from Walt Disney Studios today — we are pleased to present a hi-res version of a recently released still from the upcoming Disney/Pixar release, Toy Story 3. In honor of this historic event, we have managed to keep the image in its full, original size which you can view by clicking on the smaller image below, then on the resize arrows located on the lower-right of the image. Enjoy!

A new group of tools joins Playhouse Disney with the premiere of the animated short-form series, “Handy Manny School for Tools,” MONDAY, JANUARY 25 (8:25 a.m. ET/PT) on Disney Channel.

Inspired by the Emmy-nominated hit series “Handy Manny,” starring Wilmer Valderrama, the three-minute shorts feature Manny and his trusty tools alongside a set of 11 new tools: Beamer the laser level, Zip the power socket wrench, Pinzas the needle nose pliers, Sneeze the shop vac, Tick and Totts the socket wrenches, Roland the tool chest, Spinner the power drill and a family of crescent wrenches – dad Lefty, mom Lily and son Junior.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced that the first ten episodes of the smash ABC Television series, FlashForward, will be available on DVD on February 23, before the series resumes with the remainder of the season on March 4.

Chaos reigns in Los Angeles after a mysterious event causes everyone in the world to lose consciousness at exactly the same moment. Was it an act of nature? Something man-made gone wrong, or something even more sinister? Whatever it was, every person on Earth blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees a series of events from their own future, taking place on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m., Pacific Time. For some the future will be joyous and hopeful; for others, shockingly unexpected; and for a few, it simply doesn’t seem to exist.

In anticipation of the sixth and final season of “Lost” on ABC, DIRECTV is offering fans the opportunity to re-live the excitement of the epic series when The 101 Network begins airing recap specials covering the first five seasons on Saturday, December 26 at 9:00 p.m., ET. Beginning with “Destination: LOST,” the six recap specials will air commercial-free on The 101 Network for the first time since they were originally presented on ABC. The specials examine the stories of the survivors of Oceanic 815 and explore the mythology that has made “Lost” one of the most compelling series of the decade.

Each of the recap specials, which previously aired before the series’ season premieres and finales, will feature exclusive interstitial elements such as DVD extras not previously seen on television, including behind-the-scenes footage and unaired scenes, as well as music videos that were created with the show. The airing of the specials is the first significant promotional partnership between ABC and DIRECTV’s The 101 Network. The culmination of The 101 Network’s “Lost” event on February 2 will directly lead into the premiere of the sixth and final season of the series on Tuesday, February 2 at 9:00 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network.

“LOST” On The 101 Network – Descriptions of the six recap specials follow below: Continue reading…